Health Insurance Plans for Senior Citizens

Senior citizens require utmost care and security. They may not be able to escape health ailments at this stage but neither can they stop worrying about the rising medical expenses.

With old age, we are dependent on several counts but we can avoid being financially dependent. Therefore, it becomes important for senior citizens to buy the right insurance policy to become financially secure.

The following are a few insurance options senior citizens can consider buying:

Health Insurance:

Health insurance becomes more important for the elderly for the simple reason that as age advances, one becomes more vulnerable to health risks and complications.

Having a health insurance policy beyond the age of 60 years is important, but it is equally important to have the right policy. Armed with the health cover, the person can seek appropriate medical assistance.

How to choose a Health Plan:

When choosing a health plan, don’t make premium the sole criteria. Look for other features such as critical illness covered, hospitalization expenses, and choice of network hospitals, even if it entails a higher premium.

Also, opt for a high coverage. As senior citizen health plans often have limited sum insured options, choose the policy with the highest sum insured limit to stay protected from spiraling medical costs.

You should also consider the waiting period as certain ailments are covered by insurers only after a pre-defined timeframe. Look for the plan that has the lowest waiting period.

You may also factor in a lifetime renewability option. Therefore, choose the plan that offers lifelong renewability so that you can enjoy health coverage as long as possible.

Life Insurance:

Life insurance aims at making you financially stable in your old age. The maturity benefits received from a policy can be used to pay off existing outstanding liabilities.

Life insurance has two major categories – Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance Policy. Term insurance replaces the income lost due to the sudden death of the breadwinner by financially securing the survivor’s family.

However, buying it is advisable only if you have some outstanding liabilities or dependents who will suffer in case of your sudden death.

Whole Life Insurance Policy, on the other hand, offers insurance coverage along with maturity benefits. Herein, you can partially withdraw from the corpus to meet the financial needs at any time during the term of the policy.

These policies come with a savings component and help to lead a financially secured post-retirement life.

Some of the Whole Life Insurance Policy options includeReliance Life Super Golden Years Term 10 Senior Citizen Plan, LIC’s Jeevan Akshay VI, and LIC’s New Jeevan Nidhi Plan.

How to choose a Life Insurance Plan:

When choosing a Life Insurance plan, consider your dependents. The coverage amount is directly related to the number of your dependents.

If you have children who are not financially independent and the savings that you currently have might not be sufficient then you should choose a cover that lets you build a corpus for their future.

Your marital status is also another key factor. If you are married, it is important to buy a life insurance. Should anything untoward happen to you, the policy amount will take care of your spouse’s financial needs.

Another important factor is your earning capacity. If you are working even after retirement and your family is financially dependent on your earnings, you should choose a coverage amount that matches your current and projected earnings.

Senior Citizen Mediclaim Policy:

Senior citizens also have the option to enroll in New India Assurance’s Senior Citizen Mediclaim Policy as it covers the age category of 60-80 years.

The premiums are considerably priced and vary between Rs 3850 – Rs 5150. In case of a renewal, it can be extended upto 90 years.

How to enroll for this policy:

To enroll for this policy, it is a must to undergo a prescribed pre-acceptance health check at one’s own cost for identifying the pre-existing diseases. In case one has an existing Mediclaim insurance with the company, the health check is waived off.

Coverage:

This policy covers hospitalization expenses incurred for the treatment of illness or injury, pre- and post-hospitalization expenses up to 30 and 60 days, and Ambulance charges.

Also, this policy provides a limited cover for hospitalizations in government and /or registered Ayurvedic/Homeopathic and Unani hospitals.

In case of pre-existing diseases, the cover begins only after 18 months of continuous insurance with the company.

Do note that pre-existing conditions like Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus and its complications will be covered only after 18 months of continuous insurance but only if additional premium is paid.